Neutrality
by The Magnificent It
Summary: Sometimes, balance isn't worth the cost it takes to keep it. Sometimes, the consequence of a single action will follow you the rest of your life. And sometimes, fear of something consumes the least likely of us. Confused yet? Its a weird story.
1. In the Town of Death, Madness Sleeps

**I have not given this idea any thought other then the barest minimum.**

**I literally leap into this with the intention of seeing if I can reach a reasonable end to it. No idea where my mind takes me, just one step forward at a time.**

**For those of you who don't do this often, this is a bad idea.**

**For those of you who do, then you and I have something in common.**

**We both have a total disregard for the thinking process.**

**:D**

****

Soul.

Eater.

Too some the name was something enigmatic, yet fairly obvious in meaning. In Japanese, it could practically be taken as complete gibberish, the English overtone is too alien to 'correctly' be pronounced.

In its native tongue, the names two parts could be broken down into simple explanation.

Soul: The metaphysical culmination of a living being, one that supposedly transcends life, the realm of living, and many laws and concepts of science; as advocated by various religion and certain branches of science.

Eater: One, who devours, eats, consumes and or digests.

Together they became the following: The metaphysical existence that will be devoured by the one who has this name. Should you give him reason; of course.

Soul Eater Evans, having been bestowed this name partially on himself, partially by his mother, had a certain reputation to live up to name wise; when it came to the devouring of souls. Among the Shibusen first year students, young freshman, he was considered the most sought after weapon among them.

Thought I was talking about a person, weren't you?

Well Soul was, in many ways, a human being as well as a weapon; mostly in a few set ways (most of them scythe related). It was somewhat egotistical that he both held the name of Soul Eater, and had the potential to be a Death-Scythe, the most prominent weapon wielded by the god of death.

To say that he was a fairly qualified was not correct, still fairly young (and immature, though he himself would never admit it). To say that he was a weapon of extremely high potential was an understatement, as he was among the few of his year with the actual potential to transcend the class of meister and weapon, and become that which is wielded by a god.

So it stands to reason, that someone with such a stature to live up too would hold himself in a regard above others. And in some ways you were right, although Soul preferred taking a cool aloof approach rather than act high and mighty.

Although immature, his sense of self was one that he fought hard to maintain. He maintained that he was himself, not his brother, not just a demon-scythe, and not someone anyone would ever get too know.

So it came as a surprise to everyone when the person who became his wielder, his crafter, and his partner, was someone as completely plain as she was. Or rather how plain as she might have appeared, had certain things not come to pass.

He sat in the rubble, staring up dumbly at the girl in front of him, or what he was fairly sure was a girl. It was hard to tell, the heavy looking cloth wrapped tightly around her neck obscuring most of her face, long scarves ending in three fingered hands trailing off. Her face was mostly hidden, her forehead bangs obscuring what appeared to be a third eye tattoo in the middle of her forehead.

She had two pigtails.

"Hi! I'm Maka! You're pointy. Have you seen Mr. Shanky? I've misplaaa~aaced him."

But it was mostly a surprise to everyone because she was certifiably bat shit crazy.

****

**Soul Eater: Neutrality**

****

"_Sir, the predicament is becoming increasingly hostile! They may breach the inner sanctum if they continue to arrive in droves like this!" The intercom like device, comical in nature, relayed the crackling message to its superior._

_Shrouded in jagged darkness, the lord of all death conveyed his disapproval._

"_Ohohoho! This is getting bad, no? To think, all this because of a teeny hole!" His rather comical tone of voice was very poor in its ability to advocate the dire nature of their situation._

"_Oi! If it's a tiny hole, then plug it up already! I've missed my daughter's first grade play for cabarets sake! She was playing the critical role of a tree! HOW CAN I CALL MYSELF A FATHER IF I CAN'T SEE HER PLAY BECAUSE OF THIS LOUSY INVASION! **MAAA~KAAA! DADDY'S~!**" The rather hysterical man was abruptly cut off by a blunt chop to the head._

"_We all have to put our lives on hold for now, it's critical that we stop this from continuing. Justin-kun, how goes the evaluation of the container?" Marie, currently present from overseas, adjusted the microphone._

_From the other end there was a long pause, prompting her to twitch with irritation. "TURN THAT FRIGGIN MUSIC DOWN YOU IDIOT!" Her previously calm demeanor snapped out._

_More silence._

"_Huuh…Stein, how does it look?" She spoke into the microphone, switching frequencies. She happily got a response. _

"_It doesn't look good. The material shows signs of wear from the insanity, its already leaking out bad. I want to dissect it, I'm curious to see what a true Kishin's soul looks like." Marie shivered, Stein's madness was clearly acting up, meaning things were getting worse._

"_So can you plug it up?"_

"_Negative. The skin itself is made of unique properties. Only Asura could make more of it, and I can imagine he won't be doing that anytime soon." The line went dead suddenly, crackling with interference. Over it she could make out "Madness…rising…returning…base…ketchup."_

"_Too think, all this because of a tiny hole I stuffed my friend into. Huuuu~h. It looks like we'll need to consider some alternatives. How do you fix a hole in something as foul as madness I wonder?"_

_Overlooking the outskirts of the city, the death god felt his equivalent of unease, unable to leave the confines of the city as hordes of monsters marches to free their slumbering deity, who every day came closer to escape._

****

Soul crept his bag open, listing down items, though only paying slight attention to it, as paying attention wasn't 'cool. Today would be interesting hopefully, as he slid out of his apartment, and then closed the door behind him.

Although he rarely wore it, the black and grey pinstripe suit he was wearing felt very natural too him. It was his element and he wore it as well as the best musician. Now if only he could play like one…

Cutting the thought short, he swung his leg over his motorcycle with an irritated grimace. He wasn't going to let Wes ruin his Shibusen career like he ruined his musical career. Jealousy wasn't cool, even if he refused to admit he was jealous.

Disregarding a helmet he sped off.

Helmets weren't cool.

Speeding down the close street, he revved the engine, satisfied by the loud rumble. This was it, this was the day he was going to be recognized as the greatest, to finally have someone look at him and say 'Hey, that's Soul Eater, he's the best!' rather than 'Hey, there's Wes's brother!' Whipping around a corner, the dust he kicked up blew behind him.

And there it was, Shibusen. The massive building towered over the city, its dimensions entirely impossible, a combination of candles, spires and skulls, all somehow cute in some weird way. The front court yard teamed with people of all ages, new students, weapons and the occasional ninja; one actually, although another would be arriving late.

Parking his bike just outside the schoolyard, Soul took a moment to put the keys in his bag, before stepping idly into the frothing mass of students. Taking a moment to survey the others, it became frighteningly apparent that Soul had no idea where to start when it came to mingling with others.

But he was a cool guy, so, taking a breath, he simply walked around for a time, watching.

****

"_No. Hell no. There is absolutely, positively NO way that I'd agree to something as sick and DEPRAVED AS THAT! NO! NEVER! NOT IN A MILLION-BAZILLION YEARS!" Spirit, death's scythe, stamped his foot in the ground in resolution. "As if you'd suggest something like this, it's offensive! I'm not going to risk her, not when at a time like this!"_

"_I wouldn't suggest this if I didn't think it would work. Especially since, in a way, you are my closest friend. But it's looking like this is the only way we can long term halt the problem." Stein took another long drag of a cigarette. "It's a tough call, but unless something changes soon, we may have to make a sacrifice like this." Spirit sent him a cold glare, though he looked away in defeat._

_"I'd be a failure of a father either way, wouldn't I? Keep looking for an alternative, if there's any other way, we'll use it."_

"_You know the other way, it's not much better than the first."_

"…_it's a bad day to be quitting smoking." Spirit starred at the rising smoke, that took the shapes of skulls as they rose into the air._

****

The watching paid off, as he was one of the few students who noticed the black mass that stepped out from behind the buildings own shadow. Its skull-mask, comical, surveyed the students before a large and equally comical white hand held up a microphone.

"A-hehehem! Welcome new students, to Shibusen Meister and Weapon Academy! I am Shinigami-sama! I enjoy the sound of my own voice!" The entire class seemed to ignore him, instead chattering amongst themselves.

"O-oi…I'm talking to you. Don't make me use the scary voice."

Again, he was ignored.

"**OI. BRATS SHOULD LISTEN UP."** The entire class sent him his undivided attention, partially paralyzed by the killer-intent he'd inadvertently leaked.

'_C-confusingly, scary guy.' _Was all Soul could think of to describe him.

"Ah, sorry. Where was I? Ah, yes, welcome to Shibusen! I am the acting principle and operation director of this school. Let's be friends, 'kay?" He tilted his head when he said this.

'_A really confusing scary guy.'_

"Now, we have a large turnout of Weapons and Meisters, so to streamline things, I would like to separate you into two sides. The boxes on each side of the courtyard contain introduction cards, were you can write your name, and in the case of weapons, your weapon type. Everyone separaaa~aate…now. And remember, it's not the weapon or meister that matters, it's the soul!" The mass of people quickly split in two, Soul moving to the weapons side.

He noted how there were fewer weapons then meisters, but not by much. Taking a card, he wrote in his specs, and pinned it too his jacket pocket.

The result was instantaneous as the groups began to mingle together again, people now clearly able to define who was what. Turning to the left, Soul suddenly found a gaggle of girls suddenly in his personal space, forcing him to back away. "U-um, hello? Can I help you?" He asked, unsure of what to make of this.

"Hey!" The front one giggled, the other girls pressing forwards in a way that reminded soul of a pack of lions hunting a lone gazelle. "Sooo…you're a scythe huh? Wow, that's really interesting!" The way she said it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, in a none too comfortable fashion.

"Uh…yeah, it is I guess. Do you mind, I need to be…over there." He indicated towards the other side of the court-yard, but found himself unable to move as a surprisingly strong hand grasped his arm firmly, forcing him to remain. "Oh, we just want a quick word with you is all." She said with a pout, her other friends backing her up.

"A…quick word?" They nodded in unison, sending some very bad signals Soul's way.

"Well, we're actually not new years, in fact we're in the next grade. Now, considering you're a really strong weapon, we wanted to know if you wanted to join our little group." He stopped for a moment, taken aback at the way they were presenting themselves to him.

After thinking for a moment, Soul formulated an answer he agreed would be the coolest. "If you three are looking for a single weapon to use, then you're not very bright. Like he said up there, it's the soul that matters, and I only work with some_one_ who knows that fact in life. The fact that your desperate enough to skim through students a year younger then you just reinforces the fact you guys suck." All three stepped back, not expecting to be so verbally ripped into.

None of the other meisters had expected this either apparently, as Soul found himself in the center of a lot of extremely wary looks. He might have been a little too loud with that comment, as he could hear whispers of "Whose that jerk?" mixed along with "He's kinda scary lookin'. Who has red eyes and silver hair like that?"

He came to the realization that perhaps being mean might affect his chances of finding a partner, as a wide berth was now around him, the three nobodies from before slipping into the crowd to pray on some idiot maybe.

This continued for about half an hour, Soul wandering around the courtyard, hoping for someone to take him up as a weapon, and not receiving any requests. After a while, despite it not necessarily being as cool as he wished, he decided to ask around, and perhaps see if anyone was willing to wield him.

No luck, as he received various excuses along the lines of:

"Ah, no thank you, I'm already interested in someone else."

"Ah, uh, no-no-no-no-no, its fine, I'm not interested in scythes, I prefer blunt force weapons."

"I don't wield dudes."

These were all pretty lame excuses in his opinion (Although the last one he agreed with, he wanted a girl to be his partner, and that particular guy had unfortunately looked like a contender). Sighing, Soul opted out of the court-yard as the last of the partners to be indoctrinated that day came together. Without realizing it he'd officially lucked out on a partner for his class, and the next one over.

As the last of the class of that year filed into the school behind him, Soul checked his papers, finding the introduction to his teacher to be within a half hour, students were supposed to check into these classes after taking the time to familiarize themselves with the school itself.

Before long he found himself within the music area of the school, something he found semi-ironic, since he considered this part of his life to be behind himself. Looking left and right, he found the hallway practically deserted, meaning that no one was likely to see him slip inside.

From the way the room seemed, it looked like not many people came around this room. Deep, low lighting, the soft glow of candles the only luminance, the room screamed slow jazz with a hint of blues.

It was his kind of room.

With his kind of instrument, he noted at the large ornate piano in front of him. The black sheen version of him stared back. Something about this place just compelled him to play, despite previous misgivings about it he couldn't find a reason within himself not to play. So, stepping around the seat, he flipped the cover over the keys.

Taking a moment, he placed his index finger on the first key, and soon lost himself in the steady smooth stream of melodies.

****

"_DAMMIT!" The cry escaped his lips as the table in front of them flipped forwards violently; courtesy of Spirits foot._

"_Look, we know this is upsetting, but you're just going to have to deal with it! As we speak it's getting WORSE AND WORSE, with no signs of stopping! What happens when it escapes, then what? You're going to just let the world spiral into madness?"_

"This is already insane!" Heaving heavily, Spirit threw his arms up into the air.

"_Spirit-kun, it's not insane. Just…desperate." Shinigami admonished, deep down agreeing with the man's disgust at what they were going to resort too._

"_I don't want to hear it from any of you! I've already cost her so much, I can't make her give up the last pieces she has of a normal life! That's not even including the risks your putting my precious-"_

"_SPIRIT-KUN!" He shirked back, his sentence falling flat as the lord of death stood at his full height. "I am sorry. But we do not have time for this. It's a dangerous procedure, but I can assure you, she will survive and one day, because of her sacrifice, she WILL have a normal life."_

_Spirit starred at the shinigami for a long period of time, face unreadable. Finally though, he spoke in a low, extremely serious voice. "…you swear?"_

"_I swear that everything we had to do to survive at her expense will be paid in full." Spirit fell silent again, the only noise the click of a wall clock and the occasional crackle from the radio._

"_Fine. Do it. Just make it quick; before I change my mind."_

****

"**Attention all Shibusen faculty. It is regrettable, but a Kishin-egg has been sighted close to the school. While we of the faculty believe many of you are more than capable in handling something like this, we advise that all new-years and one-star Meisters be moved too safety while the threat is being dealt with."**

A chorus of disappointment arose from the class in front of Sid, many of them present itching to see the enigmatic demon that was stalking around. Placing the ledger on his desk, Sid crossed his arms and coughed loudly, drawing the classes attention.

"Okay everyone, you heard Shini-sama! Line up, we have to move to a safer area!"

Again, a chorus of disappointment. "But, Sid-sensei, you were about to take attendance!" One student called up, but was silenced almost completely by the others droning noise.

"Yes, yes, I'll take attendance once we reach the safe bunker, now everyone, please move out now."

One by one the boys and girls of the room filed out, although if Sid had taken attendance he would have realized that there was in fact one student missing from the pack.

The same student who didn't hear the P.A. announcement, as power had been cut from the neglected music area, which he was currently playing a piano in.

"Dammit, the first day of school, and we already have demons at our doorstep!" Spirit admonished, the artificial clouds of Shibusen's highest tower drifting lazily overhead.

"Ah, I know what you mean. I was hoping this would be a good day, but it's already gone so doooo~own hill! Nyooooo~oo." Death sighed, hands head up in exasperation.

"So who is this guy anyways? Some low level punk?"

Death turned to his partner, the man walking up beside him as the tall; winding mirror in front of them shifting images of various locations. "I think so, but the strange thing is I can't detect him. This whole city is me, and if I can't feel the presence of a Kishin this close, then we may be in trouble."

"Stealthy bastard."

"Uh-huh. The only reason we know he's here is because he's been attacking people at night. Just before the attacks, I become aware of his presence, although they've been completely random. The innocent blood; it's all over this one."

"Stealthy BASTARD."

"Anyway, what's important is we shuttle as many students as possible to safety while we sniff him out. I don't want anyone being picked off on the first day-" The god of death suddenly stiffened, making Spirit tense as well, unsure what this meant.

"Shinigami-sama…?"

"He's **HERE."** For a second, just a second, Spirit heard something he'd never heard in the Shinigami's voice.

****

Fear.

The soft creak of his joints was the only indication anyone would ever have that he was here.

For two whole days he'd crept along the steps of deaths door, any moment potentially struck down as he gathered the last inch of strength he needed for this.

But soon, soon it would all be worth while.

Soon, he would find the spot _she'd_ told him about, the gateway to the one _true_ god. He would be rewarded for his heroism this day, as he crept along the hallways of the school, taking his time, as any moment they would come out of any door, and he would be discovered.

A sudden movement from behind him forced the Kishin to creep onto the ceiling, hanging just behind the door-frame, hanging by his claws.

He was rewarded, as from behind students filed out, there young, defenseless souls all pulsing with a sense of life that drove his senses wild.

'_I wanna rip you APART.'_ He watched them file by dozens of little souls, all RIPE for the picking. It was the last vestiges of his sanity that kept him in place as the last of them, a being with an exceptionally strong soul, closed the door and walked behind the students.

Watching them retreat, he slipped down, hoping his bloodlust hadn't given away his position.

After all, Jack was patient above all things.

****

With the last note sounding through the room, Soul sighed loudly, for the first time in a long time he'd played, with no one around, not a soul to judge him or condescend. It was a lonely sensation, he realized. Closing the door to the piano with a snap, the unwitting Soul stepped out into the hallway.

To his surprise, he found the artificial lights out, the only lighting coming from candles as well. "Did the music room follow me out here or something?" He joked to himself anxiously, although in truth he was rather worried. Had something happened while he had ducked in there.

Suddenly realizing he hadn't kept track of the time, Soul checked his watch, finding himself obscenely late. "CRAP!" Turning to the side, he tore down the dark lit hallway.

It was several minutes later before he realized he was not only late, but lost.

With the lights out, the already unfamiliar hallways became even more unfamiliar, a virtual maze of darkness. Taking a turn down a flight of stairs (He hoped they lead to several flights that moved up) Soul came into a large open archway, the rooms light still only candles.

"Whoa, nice architecture; I dig this gothic stuff." He said aloud, looking at the large dome-shaped room, its many doorways intersecting into this ornate room. Large and detailed cement work lined the walls, busts of Shinigami-sama in indents in the walls.

A soft creak suddenly caught his attention, the un-illuminated center of the large rooms only other occupant suddenly painfully aware of Soul's presence.

"Whoa. Holy shit." Soul took a step back as the monster in front of him, with massive glinting knives hands and white skull mask and carrot nose almost comicly plastered together in a montage of horror.

Hunched over like some Quasimodo wannabe, the thing with dirty black hair and metal riggings on its arms turned towards him. This was Soul's first encounter with a Kishin. It would not be his last.

Hopefully…

"_**Che! Obnoxious brat! I'll kill you if you mess this up!"**_ The thing addressed him, before suddenly leaping forwards at speeds Soul didn't think possible of something like it, and swinging with one of its massive claws. It was reflexes that saved him, ducking under the attack before bolting in between the creatures legs (Sure to avoid the rather disturbing undergarments it was wearing). The sound of cement exploding from the impact of the claws only fueled his run.

Jumping backwards, Jack the Ripper spun in the air, now claws first after the defenseless Soul, who turned just as he came to the center of the room.

Time seemed to slow down as the strange monsters claws stretched out to grasp him and tear him limb from limb. _'This isn't how a cool guy dies! This isn't how I'm supposed to die! I have to do SOMETHING!"_ In a flash of blue light his hand dematerialized into a long blade, managing to block the brunt of the impact as he gasped in surprise.

It was his folly or perhaps his salvation that caused Soul's weight to give way to the hole the Kishin had been previously digging, the large slash-marks into the concrete bricks on the floor destabilizing and falling into a gaping maw.

Soul and the Kishin followed afterwards, rolling down into the deep depths of the hole as the last of the emergency light disappeared, a pinprick as Soul fell into nothingness, a demon hot on his tail.

****

"So the lights have been restored?" Sid asked over the radio, receiving an okay.

"Yeah, this one's smarter than the others; I've never seen a Kishin think to cut the power of a building before. Let's hope we never do again. Over and out." With a click the radio was turned off. Sid quickly turned to his students as they sat on the floor.

"Okay everyone, the powers back, so we don't have to be worried as much as before. On a different note, I can give roll call now, as there's light to actually read the attendance now." Taking the clipboard, Sid flipped through the ledger, finding the list of names.

"Ah, okay, here we go." He began listing off names.

"Soul Evans."

There was silence.

"Soul Evans."

"…Soul Eater Evans? Is there a Soul Eater Evans?" Sid suddenly grew incredibly uncomfortable; the idea of an unarmed level one meister alone with a Kishin specializing in stealth running around was not something he liked.

"Wasn't he that kid who ripped into those second years? He struck me as a jerk." Ox, another first year, said with a certain disinterest. Harvar, his partner, nudged him.

"Great." Clicking the radio on, Sid soon had Shinigami on the horn. "We've got a missing student. Yes, I'm aware how incompetent this makes me sound, just keep an ear and eye out for him. Okay, radio me in if you find him." With a click he turned it off.

"Okay, fine, as long as that's it. Is Black Star here?"

A long silence.

"Mother f-"

****

_Spirit stared at the large, ornate doors, into them carved three eyes and seals abound._

_He knew what sat behind these doors, and he knew what he'd sent her into. The cold lump in his stomach kept reminding him of just how horrible a person he was._

_The doors suddenly creaked open, one Professor Stein slipped through, long swishing lab coat looking slightly bigger then it normally did on him. He wasn't the only one suffering, although it might have been for different reasons then Stein._

_The man had always been easily influenced by insanity._

_Spirit looked at Stein._

_Stein looked at Spirit._

_A small puff of smoke escaped the ever cigarette present lips of his once partner._

_The silence was deafening._

"_We've succeeded. I'm sorry."_

****

He hit the wall hard, before rolling down a slope of dirt and debris, dust rising as he rolled across the hard ground, his good suit gaining numerous cuts and gashes. Rolling to a stop in a heap, Soul lay there, in too much pain too move.

"G-gaaugh…" With a groan Soul crept up into a sitting position, his arm suddenly searing in pain. Hissing, Soul cradled it, trying to find some way to hold it without horrible pain shooting up his limbs. His pain was thankfully short-lived, as it was soon replaced by horrible terror.

"_**There you are, prey."**_ His heart almost stopped as he found the monsters face suddenly inches from his own, cradled between the two knife like hands with no escape and a sprained arm to boot. _**"Nowhere to run this time I'm afraid, and no one's here to save you!"**_ His clawed left hand raised itself high into the air, Soul's life flashing before his eyes as his last defense, his scythe arm sprang out, pitifully held up to defend himself.

"_I never thought that there's someone in a musician family like us to have the blood of a "weapon" flowing through our veins. Even Granny was surprised." _Wes's voice suddenly drifted into his mind's eye, a seemingly random memory.

'_Is this…all I'm capable of?'_ The claws descended…

Before they stopped an inch from his injured form. _**"Wait a minute. Yes, yes, yes! You! You're a weapon! A delicious little weapon, and a scythe! Ooooh, Kishin-sama, Kishin-sama will PRAAAISE ME if I give you to him! Then he might invite me for dinner, maybe with some tea as we DEVOUR YOUR SOUL! GYAHAHAHAHAHA!" **_Soul blanched at the creature as it reared up, laughing in the distorted voice it used.

"K-Kishin? Hey, just what are you planning, you freak?" Although terrified, Soul refused to just go quietly.

"_**Shut up. I hate chatty meals."**_

Although considering the situation, going quietly might buy him some time.

"_**I want your soul fresh for when I present you. GET UP." **_Suddenly wrenched off his back, Soul found himself standing up, before a hard push from the Kishin forced him onward. Wincing, he ignored the holler of _**"Come on! Move it! I'm HUUUUNGRY!" **_The monster urging him forwards, deeper down the seemingly endless hallway.

Looking around, Soul absently observed that the long hallway the two of them moved down was in two directions. The direction they moved in was one of heavy worn ruins, twisted by age probably, although something about the way the stone effigies were aligned made Soul feel like something happened here.

Maybe some kind of fight…

Passing an overturned cat statue and taking a turn around a bend, a sudden overwhelming sense of wrongness overcame him. Suddenly, walking down these halls became a terrible idea, as something ahead, he didn't know what exactly, was probably worse than anything this monster could do too him. All too quickly, the premonition passed, but not soon enough in Souls opinion.

The passage ahead narrowed into a small hallway, the previously ornate cement work leading into simple, plain walls; and although technically he shouldn't have been able too because of the dark, Soul could see a pattern on the walls, ceiling and floor.

Three eyes all slanted but facing vertically, arranged into a triangle ending in circles. Soul did not recognize the pattern, but had a feeling that it was not good. Braving the possibility of being rendered in pieces, Soul breached the question that had been nagging him.

"Where are you taking me? I deserve to know."

The clatter of knives together told him his traveling companion was not displeased, or the way he licked the shear-like blades with a serpentine tongue. _**"Fine chatty meal, you'll be dead soon. I am taking you to release Kishin-sama."**_ Soul grew confused, his knowledge of world history a little hazy.

He wasn't referring to _that _kishin was he? The progenitor of them? Asa-something?

"_**Stupid welp. Kishin-sama has been locked away for a countless amount of years, imprisoned by…"**_

****

"SHINIGAMI-SAMA!"

The reaper turned towards his subordinate, tilting his head to the side to observe the entire new class of recruits close behind him, looking wary. "Sid-kun, what brings you here? Shouldn't you be in the safe rooms?"

Breathing heavily, the man stood at his full height, looking haggard yet decisive. "Yes…about that…we have a problem."

"You're referring to the absent Soul-kun. Yes, it's a major concern for his safety, I had high hopes there would be a new death-scythe in the roster. Still, we don't know if he's been taken yet, so I'll have to reserve judgment-" to the Shinigami's chagrin, he was interrupted.

"SHINIGAMI-SAMA! You're planning on having me replaced?" Spirit suddenly wailed, tears gather at his eyes.

"Yeah, that's generally the idea."

"NOOOOOOOOOO! You cannot replace me! I am your loyal Death-Scythe-kun! Think of our dynamic, it's at stake here!"

"I'm sorry, but some of your antics I'm not particularly fond of. Besides, this is years into the future, you'll be an old man by then." If anything, Spirit wailed harder.

"DON'T REMIND ME! I'M ALREADY WASTING AWAY! The other night, at the cabaret, that girl who always sits on my left, whats-her-face, Jackie-something, tells me 'Oh Spirit-kun you have a-" He was violently silenced by a hard chop to the noggin.

"Thank you sir." Sid admonished with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't mention it; I've grown a little used to his weirdness. Not to be confused with madness." The god's hand disappeared into his black cloak-ish form. "So, you were saying about something else other than Soul-kun's disappearance?"

"Ah…yes…about that…" Words suddenly failed the man.

"We seem to have…misplaced Black Star."

Shinigami-sama sighed, his eye-holes taking the form of a sad look. "Huuuuu~uh; I remember when that boy was such a good student. So unlike his father. Now he doesn't have the common sense to hide from a rogue soul-"

"KISHIN HIDE FROM THE GREAT BLACK STAR, FOR WHO CANNOT COWER IN MY SHADOW! ALL THE WORLD IS IN IT, FOR I AM THE GREAT-"

"Oh god, he found a microphone." Sid slapped his forehead.

"-BIG-"

"Seriously, I've been looking for a counselor for him-"

"**-ME!"** The child with blue hair in black and silver stood atop one of the decorative guillotines in the room, proclaiming loudly. At his side stood a woman nearly twice his height, yet held a demure quality about her that made her seem somehow smaller.

"Black Star, we've been looking for you! You could have been hurt by the Kishin!"

"The Great Black Star cannot be hurt by a mere demon! I am made of all that is ME! FOR I AM BLACK STAR!" The woman beside him gave him a confused look, gently tapping his shoulder.

"Uh, Black Star, that doesn't make sense."

"OF COURSE IT DOES TSUBAKI! All that comes from my mouth is the truth, as I am the end all and be all. I AM BLACK STAR! FTW!"

"I never should have lent him that computer. Uses it for studying; my ass." Sid snidely murmured to the god of death, who nodded slowly.

"I CAN HAZ GODLINESS!"

"So how do you suggest we remedy the situation?" Sid asked again, the god remaining unmoving.

"ALL UR BASE R BELONG 2 ME!"

"Ah, I know." Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a pebble from it.

"WHEN I DO A PUSH-UP I PUSH THE WORLD-" The pebble suddenly ricocheted off his forehead, unbalancing him and sending him falling backwards. "-DOOOOOOOOOOWN!" With a mighty crack he hit the floor, remaining still.

They all stared at him for a short while.

"Nice shot." Sid said, bumping the fist of the reaper.

"I get a lot of practice these days."

"Well, at any rate, that solves the problem with Black Star. If it's alright, I'd like to keep the students with you here, since we've already lost one." Though he'd turned around, Shinigami-sama turned his head to the side just enough to look at Sid. "This is highly unusual for you. How can I be sure you're not the creature in disguise?"

"What kind of Kishin has a death-wish like that?" Absently Sid watched Tsubaki, the newly named ninja sidekick; tend to the fallen Black Star. Black Star gave a weak "…I'll be back in the sequel." Before falling completely unconscious. "You give a good argument. Still, I cannot figure out what a Kishin would want in death city…unless…" As if the prove his theory, dozens of alarms suddenly blared.

"**SHIMATA!" **Cursing in japanese, the shinigami flew towards the mirror in the centre of the room, tapping at it. "This does not bode well."

"What?" Sid asked innocently, before a wave of madness suddenly exploded out from under then, permeating the room around them, clawing at their collective insanities.

"It's breached the inner sanctum." His voice was devoid of emotion, a strange thing for the god.

****

"_I must warn you, it's not pretty. The sealing worked as it was supposed to, but…"_

_"But what? WHAT'S HAPPENED TO HER?" His tone became razor-sharp, enough to make the normally collected Stein wince. _

"_It's mind. Even without the madness that normally exudes it, the Asura still has an extremely powerful mind. Although with the anti-wavelength she holds keeps it at bay, it's still in contact with her mind."_

"_So that THING is in her HEAD?" The man looked aghast, horror stricken at the idea. Stein just smoked his cigarette, although internally he was kicking himself for perhaps telling too much. _

"_She'll live, he wouldn't vegetablized her or anything. It's just her personality might be affected, and to a certain aspect, her perception of the world around her."_

_Their heels clicked to a stop at the center of the ornate room. In front of them in the back of red floored; high ceilinged room, stood a statue, with five arms and three eyes._

_And at its center hung chains, loosely draped on the ground._

_A lone figure lay in the center of the room, absently turned towards them even as the heavy weights on her arms and legs bound her._

"_Papa?"_

****

"_**-that accursed reaper! But I, the great Jack the Ripper, will liberate him! For months I've traveled here for **__**her**__**, that accursed witch-"**_ Soul's ears perked at witch _**"-BUT! Once I've freed him, blessed madness will fill the world! I even have a sacrifice to him!" **_The pit fell out of Soul's stomach, if that was possible, realizing fully what his intended fate was.

"Ah, I wouldn't make a good sacrifice, I mean I'm kind of a crappy scythe, no one even wanted to wield me!"

"_**Then I'll kill you and eat your soul."**_

"Then again, there's only like; one death-scythe a generation, so I guess I am pretty rare."

"_**That's a good little lamb. We're HERE!"**_ He(it?) suddenly halted in its tracks, the claw currently blocking Soul's escape nicking his shoulder.

"OUCH!" With a hiss of pain Soul grabbed at the offending wound but was stopped by the Kishin, whom hissed even louder (Literally hissing)

"_**SHUT YOUR MOUTH! You're in the presence of the true god!" **_He indicated with a single blade towards the massive doors in front of them, the hallway opening up into a large room with debris on the ground.

Soul felt his soul quiver as the feeling of overwhelming terror hit him. _'I'm seriously going to die here, aren't I?'_ The thought made his bladder weak a little bit.

Jack remained oblivious to his plights. _**"YES! YES! YES! After all this time and work, it's finally coming to fruition! AT LAST, I, THE GREAT JACK THE RIPPER, WILL FREE HIS LORDSHIP! PRAISE ASURA!" **_Soul shirked back from the monster.

Which turned out to be a bad move, as a knife was suddenly pressed against his throat. _**"OPEN. THE. DOOR." **_Soul never realized how religious you could be at the doorstep of evil until now, as he found himself praying rather franticly in his mind.

Shakily, taking as much time as he could (A sharp stabbing poke in the back giving him incentive to keep going), Soul was at last at the door.

Taking a deep breath and preparing for the end Slowly, tentatively, he grabbed the handles too the door. He gave the smallest tug.

Nothing happened, not even a budge or an inch or a crack.

"_**OPEN THE DAMN DOOR MAGGOT!" **_The displeased Jack howled from behind him, waving its arms in the air and stamping its boots. With a grimace, Soul applied more pressure. Still not a thing happened.

"_**OPEN IT OR I'LL SPLATTER YOU ACROSS THE WALLS!" **_If that wasn't giving incentive, Soul didn't know what was. Life coaches could take a message from this guy(thing?).

With a terrible heave, his whole body straining against it, Soul just could not make it budge. "IT WON'T OPEN!"

"…_**is it a push door?"**_ The thought suddenly struck him. Tentatively giving it a push, he found a small amount of giving. Applying a little more pressure, the door cracked open ever so slightly-

Like living wrapping paper it shot past his cheek, leaving a small gash before slapping onto the doors frame. Leaping back in horror, Soul could only watch as dozens more wrappings crept through the sliver of an opening and latched onto both doors, each hand-like three fingered end lying on top of one another.

All at once they stopped, a deafening silence falling over the two. "…the hell is going…?"

With gut-wrenching force the doors blasted into the opposite room, dust and debris flying everywhere as a tsunami of madness slammed into the two. A worlds worth of fear, terror and evil coursed around Soul, permeating the air he breathed and every smell he ever had.

And all at once the room returned to normal, the sea of red madness fading from his mind's eye like it had never been. The dust cloud slowly crept down, just a haze inside the now completely open room.

And a small, tender foot stepped through the last of the cloud, over the rubble and through the door.

They stared.

It stared back.

They stared.

_She _stared back.

"_**The f_ is this shit?" **_The Kishin beside him howled in shock, his elite god-master not in a visage that he'd previously thought or even entertained. Apparently the strain was too much for him.

Wrappings hugging at her to conceal her modesty, the girl in front of them gave them both quizzical looks, her hand like wrappings absently touching the ground around her as if she couldn't see.

This wasn't the case, as Soul could clearly make out the soft cream yellow of her eyes. It was a warm color, normally if not for the small glint of insanity behind it. Her mouth was also visible, although there were the only two things, the rest of her face (Nose, chin, and neck) were wrapped tightly, before the gauze like substance spread out like a large muffler at her neck.

Under her bangs displayed just enough to see was a third eye tattoo, the symbol from before.

She spoke, in a voice that commanded attention.

"Hey, if you guys are here for the t.v., the bidding starts at two-hundred bones. Chicken bones to be exact, I like to bite the leftover chicken meat. Wait, that would have your germs on it. Then just give me money. Wait, that would also have your germs on it. Give me your money without touching it." Her voice commanded attention, as you could not possibly ignore the random jabber coming out of it.

"T…V…?" Soul asked.

"Yeah, I posted it on ebay! Everyone else I know online uses kijiji, I prefer the classics though. Plus, biddings freakin' sweet! FREE MONEY!" She laughed, raising her arms above her head, causing her pigtails too flail a little.

"…this isn't what you imagined when I opened the door, was it?" He absently addressed the Kishin beside him, who although insane, was equally dumbfounded.

"_**It is a little different, yes. I'm not getting my tea, am I?"**_ His question was left unanswered, as she started talking again, hopping from one foot too the other.

"Yeah, I love the internet, and television! Papa's always bring me these cool new things, like the other day he got me this thing with a button, I think he called it the 'easy' button. All it did was saying "Well that was easy." Over and over 'gain. I ate it. It tasted like plastic."

"…"

"…"

"…BURP!" A piece of plastic and metal flew out of her mouth. As it hit the ground it bounced, a resounding "Well that was easy." was heard. "NO IT WASN'T, INSTIGATOR OF INDEGESTION!" Pointing accusingly at the offending piece of metal and Japanese engineering, her tethers at her side suddenly reared high above her head, before slamming down onto it.

The result was a large hand shape crater, with the plastic and metal at its center looking worse for wear. A pitiful "…well that hurt like hell…" was heard, before she slammed it even deeper into the ground.

She turned back to them. "So, yeah, bidding starts at two-hundred. Who's next? And don't give me that whole 'I don't bid unless I'm online' bullshit, because that's what the Anderson's said, and I murdered them for it. In the face. Eight different ways before they hit the ground. To the max."

Again, a long pause.

"…_**there is just…NO…FRICKIN…WAY you're the Kishin. You're some lying imposter, some overzealous zealot taking his form or something! NO! YOU'RE TOO TEST MY FAITH, IS THAT IT? THEN LET ME DISPLAY IT BY RIPPING YOUR HEAD OFF!" **_Peddling forwards, the creature moved over Soul's head before he could react, the beast using the same blistering speed only it was capable of.

What happened next could only be described as a fifty-hit k.o. combo preformed with only ONE THUMB. A lash of bandage shot out, cracking Jack in the face before another shot into the air, wrapped around him and flung him around like a pendulum. Another two suddenly grabbed him by the midsection, before hurling themselves and Jack into the far wall and pinning him there.

While Maka Caramel danced to no music.

Soul simply starred at her. "What? As if you've never gotten the song stuck in your head and just had to do the dance. You suck if you've never done it. Caramel-dance-virgin." Soul blushed at the last word, but was ignored in favor of the commotion from behind him.

"_**G-Graaaaaugh! False prophet! You cannot kill me! Only the reaper can!"**_ Swinging his arm down, the tethers were suddenly slashed, releasing himself with a shout of pain from the girl in wrappings. Turning around in surprise, Soul caught the end of her grimace, a small shout the only indication that the attack had hurt her.

Jack however found it encouraging in a sick way _**"That's right, warm up those vocals, I want to hear lots of 'kyaaaa's' from you before I'm done!" **_He cackled, licking the injury inflicting weapons affectionately.

"A-are you alright?" Soul asked, not really sure what was going on anymore but feeling slightly compelled to ask.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, this sort of thing happens all the time. I remember this one time-"

"_**SILENCE FALSE PROPHET! DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? YOU CANNOT KILL ME, ONLY THE WIELDER OF DEATH'S WEAPON CAN PUT AN END TO MY-OHGAWD!" **_The following scene can only be relayed to you in semi-description because of its graphic nature, but essentially involves Jack being beaten…With himself. Well…_part_ of himself.

Like I said, it's complicated. Just read okay and pretend like this vulgar display of power (Isn't that a song or something? No, it was a CD) never happened.

The slightly dismembered and beaten (In that order) body of Jack the ripper hit the ground, the body disintegrating into nothingness and a soft glow filling the room as his soul, the egg of a Kishin, hovered above the ground. _'So that's a Kishin's egg huh?' _Having never seen one before, Soul was taken aback by its size. It was tiny!

"…I think I'll call him Mr. Shanky!" The girl clapped her hands together, liking the wring of the name. Soul simply stared, the events of the day really taking a toll on his sanity.

Which was about to take an even bigger toll, as the soul suddenly flashed before the dirt around it rose up in a whirlwind. As it died down, the last of the debris skipping to a stop, Soul shirked back in horror, as Jack starred at them both in hunger.

"_**That…was unpleasant false prophet. I'll remember that when I'm eating your organs and sipping DELICIOUS TEA!"**_ His serpentine tongue licked his trusty knife hands with a disturbing amount of affection.

"…why you not dead foo?" The girl asked, tiling her head to the side as her wrappings began to twist in agitation. This disturbed Soul further.

"_**That witch didn't send me here UNARMED you idiot! My soul has been modified by the many poor 'street workers'-"**_ He mimed the words street workers with his knife hands to punctuate sarcasm _**"I've killed. You see, I cannot be killed by any conventional weapon, because I HAVE THE BLACK BLOOD!"**_

The girl stopped suddenly, giving the kishin a wary look. "…you have black blood too? Man, that's rad, I don't know anybody else with the same blood type as me! It's like when two A- people meet and are all like 'Dude, we share the same blood-'"

"_**DO YOU EVER SHUT UP? Anyways, because of the madness reinforcement powers of the blood, I can reform my body when it's destroyed! Nothing but a weapon that can cleave my soul out of the equation can stop me! ONLY ONE OF WHICH EXISTS AND IS MILES AWAY RIGHT NOW!" **_Jack broke into mad cackling while the girl chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Hmmmm…I guess you're right. What about this guy though, can he die dead?" Suddenly finding attention on himself, Soul backed away from the two of them as quickly as he could. Although not fast enough, as one of her wrappings suddenly wrapped around his ankle, before another went around his neck.

Choking, he heard a disgruntled _**"Well since the Kishin's not even here, I guess you can kill the useless maggot. I prefer women anyways."**_ The chokehold suddenly tripled in strength, Soul feeling like his head was going to pop off. Weakly, he tried to mutter the only thought his oxygen deprived brain could think of.

"Hmm? What's that my corpsy friend?" Maka walked over and leaned in, Jack sharpening his claws without really paying attention. "Comeon, speak up, I can't hear you while I'm strangling you!."

"Eh…gugh…I, I ca-kuh…can…" Tugging at the binds fruitlessly, the girl rolled her eyes before they loosened enough that he could gasp for air. Gasping on the ground, he looked up at her, in the gravel, terrified but fairly sure this would work.

"I can kill a kishin by taking its soul! I'm a demon-scythe!"

Probably sure it would work. Maybe. About fifty/fifty. Give or take a few.

Jack stopped sharpening his knives at this, now aware of his folly. _**"Oh…crap. Now that I think about it that seems like a huge hole in my overall plan. Shit. Well, whatever, I mean it's not like the brat'd team up with that crazy girl or something and-" **_He was abruptly cut off by the girl suddenly reaching and grabbing the boys arm.

"G-GAH!" A single pulse of electricity arched between her hand and Soul's body, before he suddenly felt the change flow through him, twisting into the form of a scythe. Where the handle ended an eye opened, quickly turning into an agitated frown. _"OI! What the hell are you doing?"_ The girl stared at him for a moment before smiling. "Oh calm down, I'm just taking the lead. Follow my steps and we'll work fine together." Taken aback at her forwardness (And a little confused about what she was talking about), Soul simply remained in his weapon form as the girl idly swung him around like any other weapon.

"_**LIKE IT'LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE! I'M NOT HOLDING BACK ANYMORE, GET READY TO BE IN PIECES!"**_ Jack reared his hands up, hunched over like an animal.

"_Well great, here he-" _Suddenly feeling a pulse, Soul's blade flashed as if sharper, the girl suddenly going from idly playing with the blade to swinging it in great elliptical arcs like a professional.

"_**The hell?"**_ Taken aback, the ripper showed signs of wariness at the development.

"Psh, don't you know how this works? We're partners in this! So dance with me! Dance for beautiful carnage!" Kicking forwards, Jack flinched as she closed in. With demon-enhanced reflexes he raised a clawed hand, barely managing to block.

This left him open for the bandage smack to the face, sending him flying upwards. This time more aware of his surroundings, the Kishin in the air twisted around before kicking off the wall in a beeline for the other, before running along its length.

Watching the creature wall run with disinterest, the girl's tendrils twitched, before they shot out like so many blades, narrowly missing the creature as it continued to defy gravity and high speed. Weaving between two papery projectiles, leaving behind flying dust and rubble. Kicking down, the creature bee lined for the ground.

"GOTCHA." The girl laughed, her two retracted tethers flying out, set to intercept the ripper as it cried with a curse of _**"OH SHIT!" **_A large plum cloud of dust expanding out where he'd been previously running towards. "Like I said, 'gotcha'." The girl laughed too herself, Soul allowing himself a momentary sigh of relief.

"_**NOT SO FAST!" **_Flying out from the cloud, the girl's smile disappeared as Jack the ripper ran hard towards them. Her bandage-hands twisted around, set to give chase, only to be cut off as Jack severed the still drawn fabric, causing a wince from the girl. There was no time to grimace however, as Jack was already upon her.

Nimbly twisting around a swing, she blocked two swipes with the blade before swinging the blade around, nicking Jack's nose. The irritation of being struck was evident by the wild swing he made with a howl, causing a cloud of dust to momentarily conceal him. While Soul was still dumbfounded to what was happening, the girl was completely in the game, a tendril shooting to the side and latching onto the wall.

With a mighty wrench of her arm, the girl pulled herself to the side just as the extremely angry maniac exploded forwards like a bat outta hell, pointy teeth and glistening hands first.

Narrowly missing them, Jack whirled around as the girl's four tendrils held her in place on the ceiling like a spider. _**"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME UP THERE!" **_Leaping upwards, heels and claws digging into the ceiling, the Kishin sped forwards like an animal with frightening speed.

"Shit he's persistant." The girl joked, her arms pulling her forwards.

The two met on the ceiling, the scythe and claws meeting in terrific crashes, sparks flying. At once though, it became apparent that Jack had the high ground, as with a flick of his wrist, one of her supports was severed. _"SHIT!" _Swearing in a distorted voice, the girl simply grimaced as her other bandage arm was severed in the confusion.

Laughing as the other two legs gave out from the shock, Jack shot to the ground almost instantly as the girl descended. _**"EAT THIS!"**_ Plowing off at full power, the girl to disjoint to block, Jack's claws scrapped a large gash across her front, before slamming into the wall opposite himself. Hitting the ground in a heap, the girl slowly pushed herself up, before violently coughing up blood as it seeped from the wound.

"_Oi! Are you okay?"_ Although unnerved by the blood, Soul couldn't see her face as to whether she was alright. A soft silence fell between the two, the only sound was Jack licking the blood off his claws, occasionally cackling at his seeming victory. _**"Kishin-sama be praised."**_

"A…ah…ah…aaaaaaah….stingy. It's really,really stingy. Death is a stingy thing. But I'm not dying, oh no, I don't like the stingy, I HATE THE STINGY." The girl breathed heavily, in a deep bow as she watched the pool under her slowly expand. Then she looked forwards towards the scythe that lay on the ground in front of her, watching in concern and fascination.

The wound along her chest healed before his eyes, closing with a hiss as the bandages previously severed reformed themselves into proper alignment. "JEEEEZ that hurt! I'mma little made atchoo for that Mr. Shanky! I think I just might EAT YOUR SOUL!" A tendril suddenly shooting out, it latched onto Soul as his eye caught the last vestiges of the pool of blood.

It was black as madness.

The girl's eyes roved across the room, her tattoo seemingly coming alive as it too scanned the room around it, seeing everything yet understanding nothing. "IMMA GONNA GETCHOO GOOD MR. SHANKY!" Her eyes clashed with the madness they were emitting, the smile lined with black blood equally unnerving Soul.

Jack swiveled his head to the side, having finished licking the blood off of them. _**"AH?" **_Was all he managed before the girl's bandage shot around, swinging Soul. With more force than feasibly thought it swung him around, ever her head and dragging across the wall, leaving a long gash of devastation.

The blade came within a hair of destroying the monster, the walls shaking from the force of the swing. Narrowly jumping away, Jack hung suspended in the air as Soul made a complete pass around the room, the tendril tossing him up, before all four shot out as the girl caught him in the air.

All four tendrils crushed into the Ripper's arms and legs, restraining him in place. With a shout, the monster was dragged forwards, blurring because of the speed.

At the same time, the girl launched off, reaching inhuman velocity. Too fast to blink, the two monsters met in the air, the blade crashing into the maniac with a mighty _**"OHGAWD!"**_ The girl seemed to laugh out loud, time slowing down as they hung in the air, Soul wincing from the force of the impact. The Kishin was denser then he looked…

Before he could give it much thought though, the girl shouted. "GOD? I KNOW A GOD! HE LIVES IN MY LUNGS! HIS NAME IS 'YOU GONNA DIE BIOTCH!'" With a hard 'shink!' the blade swung through the body in the air Jack's arms splaying out from the force. The girl hit the wall in a crouch, a crater forming under her feat.

"_**I think I'll miss the murder the most." **_Were the last words out of the creature's mouth before claws and teeth and thong and all disappeared into a cyclone of darkness, nothing left but a small red and pink sphere.

Jack the Ripper would not come back.

Time seeming to restore itself, the girl crouched on the wall slid off, falling on her butt, the demon-scythe clattering to the ground before the hold enforced on him faded. With a flash the body of a boy returned, sitting dumbfounded on his butt in the rubble.

A soft shuffle of dirt told him the girl was standing over him, returning his quizzical look in full.

"Hi! I'm Maka! You're pointy. Have you seen Mr. Shanky? I've misplaaa~aaced him." One of her wrappings slowly trailed forwards, like it was indicating he take the hand. Pulled upright, Soul dusted himself off, before addressing the newly named hellion.

"Uh, hi. I'm Soul, Soul Eater. Thanks."

She waved her hand, the other four false ones mimicking the motion. "Nah, nah, that guy was an asshole. Sorry about trying to strangle you, I can be a liiiiii~iiitle crazy sometimes."

'_Biggest…understatement…of the year.'_

"Uh, it's alright. I'm just a little confused. It's been a pretty rough day. My suits ruined." He indicated towards the many gashes in it, as well as the sizable amount of dirt currently caking it. "Oh, nah, that'll come out. Come on in, I have a shower you can use to clean yourself off." Stepping through the gaping doorway, Soul hesitantly looked around, unsure if this was a wise idea.

'_That Kishin said that this is where there god is sealed. But…this girl can't be him, can she?' _Taking a tentative step through the room, he was taken aback by the grandeur of it.

A HUGE room, tall pillars in red supporting a seemingly inky depths above them, Soul could not believe how big this room was. Passing a dozen of these supports he came to the center of the room, four chains strung together to support a hammock in the center of what was a hub of electronic devices. Two televisions, a laptop, with a Suny PlowStation 3.5 and a YCube 69 hooked to the larger of the two screens ( I am so good at avoiding copyright infringements!). To the side of this was a refrigerator with a radio/boombox on top of it humming.

To the side even further was a bookshelf, books ranging from 'Moby Dick' too 'Yoga: The SEXY advantages!" Were in it, practically packed with literature. On top of it was an alarm clock and a few manga, with some otaku figures from various anime.

"Yeah, the shower is way over there, kinds in the distance." Maka indicated towards a small light way in the distance. "It's not as far away as it looks. Here's a change in cloths-" She passed him what appeared to be an orange sweater with some writing on it and a pair of blue jean short pants. "I'll see you in a couple minutes." Still completely dumbfounded, Soul simply shook his head before heading towards the offered shower, not really questioning why it was down here in the first place.

Absently he looked at the massive statue in the farthest back of the room, its three armed, many eyed presence giving Soul the creeps. He never really understood modern art…

****

"_Maka, honey; it's Papa; I'm here. How are you feeling?"_

"…"

"…_what have we done?" Spirit stood back, the body of his daughter having gone silent, simply starring placidly._

"_We've saved a lot of lives today. Without its wavelength the invasion force of Kishin headed this way are backing off as we speak. The hole in the bag-" He indicated towards the discarded material which lay to the side of the room. "Is no longer a problem. With Maka's anti-wavelength keeping the Kishin's power from leaking out, we won't have to worry about anymore leaks in insanity…" Stein trailed off, Spirit's shaking unnerving him. "What?"_

"_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN WHAT? I've sacrificed my daughter for this! My wife won't speak to me, and I can't blame her either! I cannot believe that I've SACRIFICED MY LITTLE GIRL!" Blades suddenly sheared out of the man, a fit of passion overwhelming him._

_"SPIRIT-KUN!" Flinching back to the real world, Stein's normally placid voice drew the enraged father out of his accusations. "I understand your feelings. We all do. I find myself disgusted with the idea as well. But Maka's alive. She won't be normal, not for a long time. BUT SHE'S ALIVE." The words were punctuated with a firm resolve too them that snapped Spirit out of his anguish._

_There was a pause, although he visibly relaxed._

"…_fine. Fine… but only if I can do one thing."_

"_What is it you're planning?" Stein asked, stepping beside him to watch the child._

"_I'm not going to abandon her just because she contains Asura now. I'm going to be there for her, no matter what the cost or danger, even if I have to sacrifice myself. I'm her father, and even if it means trekking here every day just too see her, then I will."_

"_I will NEVER fail her again."_

****

Absently toweling his hair, Soul was frankly flabbergasted how technologically current the seemingly ancient room was. The shower had motion sensors, hot and cold water, even heated towels! This was probably the weirdest day he'd ever had! Hands down!

Walking into the only lit area, he found Maka tapping away at her controller (For both systems), absently shooting a guy in the face and jumping to a platform in a separate game. "How was your shower?" She asked, her eyes still fixed on the screen but her tattoo seeming to follow him wherever he went.

"Ah…good. I feel better now." He absently scratched his elbow.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to sit down?" She scooted over in the hammock, indicating him to sit. Rather than disagree with the possibly homicidal girl, he sat down, watching the wonton destruction she was reaping. He noticed out of the side of his vision the wrappings around her neck had been pulled down, reveling the rest of her face. Her pigtails were also down.

"…so…why do you live down here?" A cry of dismay from the girl caused Soul to scoot away in fear, but it was unwarranted, as she had simply been shot in the face during a match online.

"CRAP! NOOB_BLASTA67! YOU ARE NOW MY NEMESIS!" She cried out, the match ending. "Well there goes my kill-streak." She tossed the controller to the side.

"You were asking why I live down here." He nodded, unsure if this was wise, but curiosity getting the best of him. "Weeee~ll if you gotta know, I'm kinda supposed to be down here cuz'a some stuff I'm not allowed to talk about. Kishin stuff. Sometimes my dad comes and visits me though; he gives me something most of the time. I think he's sorta guilty he can't be part of my life."

"Oh, that's…too bad."

"Yeah, it gets kinda lonely down here. Come to think of it, you're the only other person too ever visit me other than him. Only other person EVER to visit was Shinigami-sama, and he didn't stay very long. Something about the ambience getting to him or something." She rocked back and forth.

"Oh…I see. That's not cool."

"Cool?"

"Yeah, cool. If something's not cool, it's not good."

"Does that mean I'm not cool?"

"Uh…no, no I guess not. You're cool."

"I'm glad." She giggled, Soul smiling. She suddenly perked up. "OH! By the way, I went back and got this guy's soul." She reached behind her, pulling out the item. "Too be honest I've never eaten a soul, dad says I shouldn't. It's bad karma or something."

Entranced by the colors and soft glow of it, Soul gently took the essence of life. "You said you were a demon scythe right?" Turning to look at her, Soul nodded. "Well, my dad knows a lot about it. Apparently he always thought I'd end up a technician, because he told me a couple times that a demon weapon becomes a death-scythe when they eat ninety-nine Kishin souls and one witch soul. I guess you should eat it then, since you're a scythe."

"Y-yeah, that makes sense…I think. So I just…eat it?"

"Yeah, that's what he said. Think of it like a really big gob of marshmellow or something!" The words were only slightly encouraging, a large pit forming in Soul's throat.

'_A little while ago this guy was trying to kill me. I'm not sure I want that in my stomach." _Still, there wasn't a whole lot Soul could do with a soul, and he had read part of a pamphlet about this.

He recalled vaguely it mentioned this. He'd have to go over that pamphlet again.

Steeling himself, he opened his mouth as wide as it would go, placing it on his tongue. Chewing it slowly, finding the taste rather exotic, Soul swallowed.

At first there was nothing. Then at once, this feeling of overwhelming power, a complete rush filled him with adrenaline. "Oooh, that looked like it was fun!" Maka observed as a shiver coursed through Soul's body.

"U-uh…yeah. It's a weird taste too it."

"Burnt cigarettes?"

"No, I said it tasted weird, not horrible."

"Ah, so it tastes like a lotta burnt cigarettes." Soul shook his head in resignation, giving up.

"I can't really describe the taste, only that it gave me kind of a rush." That sounded less confusing in his head then he'd originally thought.

"Well, if I can't eat a soul, and you can't describe it too me…" She trailed though, a weird expression crossing her face.

"Uh, Maka, your kinda scaring me. What're you thinking of-" He was silenced by the soft pair of lips suddenly pressing against his. So completely taken aback by this, Soul could only lean fall back as the soft weight of the girl pressed down on him.

'_W-wha?'_ Was all his brain could manage to put together, miming the thought with is lips. This gave the girl the opportunity to place her tongue inside Soul's mouth, causing complete and total mental silence.

Breaking away, the slightly blushing girl sighed. "You were right. It does taste exotic." She giggled, Soul's entire face a massive blush.

"Ah, no problem." Was all he managed, not really sure what just happened. Maka however didn't move from atop him.

"You know, I recall saying I never had a boy down here before." Soul could feel her press just a little harder against him.

"A-ah, m-maybe…" Was all he managed before a thunderous explosion from overhead drew their heads upwards.

"_PAPPPPPAAAAAAAA TO THE RESCUUUUUU~UUE!" _The distorted voice of Spirit shouted over the explosion, in the trusty hand of Shinigami-sama who hovered above the ground.

"Ah, Spirit-kun, I don't sense the soul anymore. It seems we missed out."

"_Eh? Well that's a bummer, but at least my little…"_ His mind caught up with what he was seeing, his daughter infused with a demons power lying on top of a boy.

"HI PAPA!" Maka waved, exaggeratedly swinging her arm.

"Uh, why is your dad turning back into a person and running at us?"

"Dunno. He looks upset about something though." Soul sat up, not really sure what this meant.

"mmmmmmaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAA**KKKKAAAAAAAA!"** Running towards them and screaming her name at the top of his voice, Spirit leapt into a high kick, his foot cracking into Soul's face, knocking him unconscious.

"Papa! You broke my special friend!"

"I WAS SAVING YOU FROM A VILE BOY! MAKA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT! DADDY'S HERE TOO-!"

"**SHINIGAMI-CHOP!"** An explosion accompanied this, Spirit smashing into one of the pillars. "Honestly, no one takes parenting as seriously as me, but even I have my limits." Shinigami's hand disappeared.

For a long moment, they stared at each other, the god of death taking in the techno-savvy living space, with its two occupants, one of which had a bleeding nose and the other was sitting on top of him.

"Sooo…have you seen Mr. Shanky?"

And thus began the horrible spiral of terror that would soon become Soul Eater Evans Life.

**So, this story is essentially the bastard child of two parts of Soul Eater I love.**

**Crazy Maka, because everyone loves her!**

**Kishin Asura, because he did not get anywhere near enough time on screen**

**So yeah, I vaguely recall Maka's soul in the anime has a way of fending off madness (Something about anti-wavelength or something), so I thought, well doesn't that mean that mean if you were to, I don't know, place a demon inside of her, wouldn't her wavelength cancel out the crazy evil of the soul?**

**And thus this story came to be. I don't even know if its possible, I just thought, hey, what the hell, I'm not COMPLETELY overloaded with stories that need updates, why not throw one more on the fire?**

**HOORAY FOR GOOD THINKING!**


	2. The Strange gets Stranger

**To breath life into this story a little bit I'm adding a second chapter, just to insure people understand that no, no I am not just going to let this sit there with a measly four reviews.**

**I will always try to make my stories the best they can be (while remaining as lazy as I can be), because that's just how I do things on this website.**

**Although part of me really wants to beef up my deviant account (I haven't updated anythin' in like, fo'eva) right now, my roots have always been on this website, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon (fingers crossed okay people?).**

**So, let's shed some light on the spiraling pit of horror that is Soul's life, shall we?**

**Nyoo~ooron-READ!**

**

* * *

**

Slowly, groggily, Soul's eyes adjusted too the light, his ears picking up a faint buzzing noise accompanied what sounded like voices underwater.

Above him, an overhead light shone with an intensity that made it look like the sun, but its faint flickering told him he was inside. The cream colored ceiling that came into focus a moment later was also a good indication.

Soul's vision however was taken up by the persistently talking head that hovered over him, the source of the underwater noise. Speaking of which, his hearing and sight was slowly returning, Soul blinking away the sun-spots from the light overhead.

The first thing he heard made his stomach drop.

"-OH HEY THERE! I'm glad you're awake, I was kinda worried that I might have gotten you inadvertently killed or something, which is really uncool. The way I see it, you either kill somebody upfront, or not at all." The face of Maka Albarn, bandaged and pig-tailed and all, hovered over him.

Naturally Soul did the only sensible thing.

"GAH!" Sitting up straight, he heaved himself up on his arms and legs, intending to jump away. It would have worked probably, had a horrible pain not shot through his arm, causing him to shout and pain, before falling off the bed with a loud _thunk_.

"Oh jeez, look at what you did. Ooooh, why do all the things I love scream and fall out of bed?"

Grimacing while clutching his arm painfully, Soul ground out the first question that came to mind. "T-things you love?"

Maka blinked, before snapping her fingers. "Oh, sorry, I meant love like a friend or a puppy or a house maid."

"A maid?"

"Yeah. Here, let me help you with that." Her tendrils reaching out and scooping him up, Soul found himself easily transplanted from the floor, back onto the bed. "There, that's a little better." Sitting up and tenderly cupping his arm (Which he noted was in a splint, signed with a crudely drawn picture of Maka giving the peace sign) He looked around and noticed something very disturbing.

They were in his room. In his house.

"Oh, yeah, another thing. I know where you sleep. Isn't that great!" Maka's arms held over her head, which was tilted too the side, gave him the impression he should be happy that she knew the exact location he'd most likely be most vulnerable.

"A…buh…guh?" Soul's eye twitched badly, Maka's smile never leaving her face.

* * *

**Soul Eater: Neutrality (CUUUUE DA FREAKIN THEME MUSAK!)**

* * *

"_Ah, Maka-chan, it's good to see you in…such good health." Shinigami-sama idly asked her, sidestepping a large brick, coming up about two feet behind the girl's bed. Said girl poked the unconscious body of Soul 'Eater' Evans, whom remained unconscious. "I see Spirit-kun is still up too his protective nature. Although he is still too…overenthusiastic."_

_Maka turned from her entertainment too him. "Yeah, Papa takes pretty good care of me. Although I wish he hadn't broken my new special friend. We were just getting too the good part!" Rubbing the back of his head, the lord of the dead was not entirely sure how to proceed with this conversation._

'Hi, so, sorry about sealing my arch-nemesis inside of you, driving you insane and punching a massive hole in your roof._' Despite not having only slightly more tact then Spirit, Shinigami knew better then to tread on toes such as that. "Uh, well, I'm sure that he'll come to at any time soon." Maka nodded, a smile crossing her face._

"_Yeah. Oh, hey, I found out what a soul tastes like!"_

_Blanching, the shinigami's hand flashed into its chop stance, unsure of how to proceed. "R-really? YOU ate the kishin's soul?"_

_Frowning, Maka shook her head. "Naw, Mr. Shanky didn't look tasty anyways. No, Soul ate it, I just tried it the second hand way." Although confused, the reaper did not feel like finding out what it meant._

_Afterall, why look a gift horse in the mouth? She hadn't started eating souls, which meant that she still had a grasp on reality._

_She started licking Soul's forehead._

_A partial grasp of reality._

"…_uh huh…so…Soul-kun's eaten his first kishin soul huh? You seem to be following your mother's footsteps already." Her tendrils suddenly twitched badly, Shinigami chiding himself for bringing up a sore spot for the child. _

"_Y-yeah…I guess you're right." The slightly dead way she spoke it didn't calm his nerves, even though the arms of the kishin relaxed._

_Maka's tone quickly changed. "You know, yeah. My mom forged papa right? Maybe I'm good at this whole weapon thing." Although he was glad that she regained her bubbly demeanor, something in that sentence put him on edge. _

"_Yes, well, Soul-kun is looking a little injured, so I should probably take him to the infirmary." Maka suddenly frowned, looking between him and Soul._

"_But…I can't go with him." The way her arms wrapped tighter around him suggested that this was going to be difficult. She after all rarely grew attached to people. _

"_W-well, I'm sure he'll come visit you once he's feeling better." Maka looked down at Soul, the gears in her insane little head working on a solution._

"_Ah! I have an idea." Shinigami did not like where this was leading. He didn't hate Maka, but she was still very insane._

"_And that is?" He treaded slowly, waiting to hear what she had likely already decided. _

"_I've been a good girl for a long time. I haven't murdered anyone other than people who were bad. I obey the rules, I don't post anything that could be damaging to the academy on the internet, and I never ask for anything, everything is given to me." The fair argument she brought forwards left him standing aback a little._

"_Ah, alright then?"_

"_Okay, then I would like to be a meister, like you suggested."_

_This set off several warning bells in the Shinigami's head. "N-now hold on a second! I didn't suggest any of that, and while you've been a…good girl…you have to understand that that idea holds numerous risks to not only your person but shibusen!" She frowned softly, standing up._

_Although almost half his height, her eyes didn't cast anything less than true determination, and for a moment Shinigami questioned whether or not she was truly insane after all. "I want to be a meister, and I want to be Soul-kun's partner. Other than going on missions and fulfilling my role as meister, I will continue to remain here, only venturing out on meister business." She concluded with crossing her arms and fixing him with a determined look._

"_I don't know…" Honestly, the question of allowing the girl housing the greatest demon lord on the planet to become a meister would be a no brainer._

_And yet, something compelled him to say yes. It was a mostly inane sense that it was fundamental to something, or other that he allowed this girl to become a meister. Although a prison to a monster; she was also a teenage girl who because of his own mistake was going to spend the rest of her life imprisoned._

_Maybe it was guilt he was feeling._

"_This is probably a terrible idea…" Cupping the lower part of his mask, he weighed the possibilities. _

_Maka however chose that moment to bring out her best weapon. "Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" Her eyes seemed too catch the light around them, enhancing her cuteness ten times over. Shinigami's will buckled under the gaze of the chibi-eyes._

"_O-only if, YOU agree that nothing will happen that could release the kishin, and that Soul-kun received medical attention." _

_Her face lit up. "YAAAAAAY! OMG this is going to be so much fun! I'm gonna be a meister! I'm gonna be a meister! I'm gonna be a …" She continued sing-songing, dancing around while Shinigami just shook his head._

_Which was the opportune moment for Spirit to walk up, nursing a goose-egg. "So…what'd I miss?"_

"_Your daughter has been assigned as a meister with the boy she was molesting a moment ago."_

"_Ah…wait, WHAT?"_

* * *

_Returning to his study, Spirit was left alone with the unconscious boy and the doctor who looked him over. "Well, as near as I can tell, the only major injury he's sustained is a concussion and a sprained arm. Nothing I can't handle." The nurse chided._

_Spirit nodded, but remained silent, something that she hadn't expected. "Is something wrong? You haven't even tried to score on me yet." She indicated to herself, which seemed to draw the scythe out of his reverie. _

"_Hm? Ah, sorry, I'm not myself right now. Things have taken…a turn for the worst." She frowned, curiosity peaked._

"_Well, why not talk about it. Keeping things too yourself is never healthy." The woman sat down in a chair, indicating to another opposite it. Reluctantly, Spirit sat down, looking at her as she studied him. "So, what could possibly through the infamous Spirit off his A-game I wonder?" _

_He smirked. "I can't completely divulge. But let's say, for hypothetical sakes that the kishin that's been rummaging around lately stumbled on something that has had some far reaching consequences." _

_This got her attention. "Ah, I've…heard about that. Those poor women." The remark sounded hollow, but neither noticed this._

_Nor did they notice the window suddenly unlocking thanks to a paper hand._

"_Yeah, but that isn't going to be a problem anymore. What IS going to be a problem is what he inadvertently caused, the bastard." The window slowly cracked open, a second hand pushing it with a slow, steady care to not cause creaking._

"_You keep alluding to something you can't talk about, but clearly want too. I am a shibusen staff member, you can tell me." She indicated towards the AM part of the sentence, sounding almost impatient._

"_Well, I guess there's no point in this conversation. What's happened is top secret, no one but Shinigami-sama, myself and two other people know what's happened. That's the way things are just going to have to stay."_

"_Life as a death-scythe must be difficult, keeping all these secrets." The hands, having propped the window open successfully and now preoccupied themselves with the final objective. Without a rustle they scooped under Soul, expertly scooping the boy out of his bed._

"_It is. The other day I found a grey hair for crying out loud! I'm in my TWENTIES!" Spirit's sudden shift in personality took her aback. _

"_A-ah, it's normal for someone with a high-stress job to develop grey-hair earlier. Its fine, its fine!" She waved her hand as the last of Soul's body disappeared out the window._

"_Ah jeez, look at me! I'm so old and decrepit, I can't even make a 'let's play doctor' joke with a sexy nurse! I should just roll over and die! DAMN YOU STEIN! YOU STOLE MY YOUTH!" He suddenly cried loudly._

"_N-now hold on! I have an unconscious pat…ient…" She trailed off, now painfully aware that the window was wide open, Soul's unconscious body missing from the spot it'd been a moment ago._

_Spirit continued unperturbed._

"_AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHICH THUMB IS WHICH!"_

* * *

_Maka smiled widely, the rooftops above the streets of Death City making a perfect hiding place. Behind her, wrapped in her bandages lay the unconscious Soul, who had thankfully not awoken from his forced slumber._

"_Hmmmmm…where to go, where to go. Can't go back to my house…so that leaves either Papa's or…" She trailed off, stopping where the jutting pane of a window and the roof met. Placing Soul on the slightly frayed shingles but careful not to let him slip off the roof, she frowned._

"_Oooor…maybe I can just go to your house? Hmmm? If there's any problem with that, it's okay to speak up now." She indicated towards Soul, who remained silent. "Okay! Now, Since your probably having such a nice sleep, I'd hate to wake you up. So; I'm just going to take the lead with you for a moment, okay?" The bubbly way she asked him this suggested further that her grasp of unconsciousness was shaky at best._

"_Hmmmm…okay, just relax alright? This'll only hurt if I want it too." Her third arm, not currently holding him up, touched his forehead with a single digit, a red currant of electricity dancing between the two surfaces._

_As before, Maka briefly took the lead, and for a moment a part of her soul and Soul's became one. Before a flash of darkness suddenly panged inside of her, and she jumped back as though shocked by the same current of electricity. "G-gotta be careful, don't wanna wake up Big Ota-san." She shook herself, feeling around inside of her vessel._

_Thankfully nothing called back, the reaching grasp of her tenant shrinking back into slumber. "Weird, that wasn't a problem before. Hope that doesn't come back, Big Ota-san is creepy." She shivered, suddenly feeling exposed. The feeling passed quickly though, as a new feeling came to her._

_She smirked. That connection they'd shared had been together long enough for some of Soul's feelings and memories to reach her. Not his deepest feelings or desires or anything, just the things that were considered semi-frivolous._

_Which thankfully included where he lived._

_Smirking in a way that would make most cower in fear, she darted between the shadows of the houses, captive in tow._

* * *

Which explained how Maka now knew where he lived.

The smell of sizzling eggs permeated the air, the steam of the breakfast food rolling along the cream colored walls of his kitchen.

Absently, Soul sat at the table, watching his other tenant flit around the room as her tether-like hands shuffled the frying pan and tended the aforementioned eggs. Humming to herself, Maka bounced around, looking at everything in the room with the same enthusiasm of a young child who had just discovered something fun.

"Hhmmmmm…Hey Soul?"

Perking up, careful not to aggravate his injury, Soul quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

She pointed to a picture perched on a shelf. "Whose this guy? Is he you in the future, because it looks a lot like you." Soul frowned, Maka clearly referring to his brother.

"Ah…that's…me from the future. I become a really cool guy, and invent time travel." Maka whirled around, her face struck in wonderment.

"REEEALLY? Did he tell you the secret of time travel?"

"Yeah."

"What is it? Tellmetellmetellme!" She hopped up and down, still completely enraptured.

"The secret is…to not be gullible." He smirked.

There was a long pause.

"Ooooooh, I get it. You were messing with me….ha, that's funny." She laughed a little, just a small chuckle.

"Uh…yeah, sorry but-" Soul began to explain but was cut off by the arm suddenly wrapping itself around his neck and strangling him.

"That's a pretty good joke, I'll have to remember it." Maka said cheerfully, watching her other two arms flip the eggs.

Choking as loudly as he could, Soul noted that it was probably extremely fitting that it would be his cutting sense of humor that would do him in.

"So, seriously, who was that guy in the…." Turning her head towards Soul, Maka trailed off, suddenly aware that she was inadvertently murdering her new partner. "Oh, crap, sorry! Sometimes they have a mind of their own." Soul gasped for sweet air as he sat up, having been pinned underneath Maka's arms a moment ago.

"C-cough cough! Watch those things will ya?" Soul heaved, his skin's pallor returning to its usual pale color.

"I said I was sorry!" Maka inclined, pouting. Having regained his breath, Soul fixed her with a look between 'seriously?' and 'she's serious.'

"Just promise me that isn't going to happen again anytime soon."

"Only if you stop making fun of me." She turned her head, taking a childish tone.

"…fine. I'm sorry for making fun of you, but you didn't have to strangle me."

"Again, it was an accident. Say your sorry arms."

The referred to arms lazily drifted towards Soul, and for a moment he wondered how a mock-limb made of what appeared to be bandages could apologize. The question was answered when it flicked his nose, causing him to flinch in sudden surprise. "Ow!" Rubbing the irritated spot, Soul fixed the arms with a look that suggested pain.

"Hmmm, they really don't like you." Soul had noticed.

"Anyways, about the guy in the photo?" She asked over her shoulder as she went back to the eggs, finding them done.

"Right, right…That's my brother Wes. He's a musician. A better one then I am, actually."

Maka frowned, inclining her head to the side. "Wait, you play music?"

"Yeah, the piano. Come to think of it, it's the reason I ended up meeting you actually." A short explanation followed this, Maka's head bobbing up and down every few seconds as she digested it.

"Well, I suppose its only fate that you and I are partners now." She handed him a glass of orange juice and his eggs as she sat down.

Sipping the orange juice, Soul suddenly stopped drinking it, a look of pain suddenly crossing his face. "P-partners?" He asked, swallowing with a large gulp.

"Yep! I called in a favor with Shinigami-sama! We're partners now! Oh what fun we will have!" Soul's skin dropped three shades paler.

"Oi, Shinigami-sama!" Walking into Death's room, Spirit looked through the large mirrors glass at the lord of the dead, who sipped his tea thoughtfully. "That punk's missing." Was all he said, not really elaborating as too who the identity of the 'punk' was.

It wasn't needed.

"Ah, yes. Maka-chan's abducted him and is currently at his home. I'd act accordingly, but technically speaking, this falls under meister business."

"…what?" Spirit sighed, exasperated.

"Bonding is one of the clear examples in which meister and weapon become in tune with one another. I recall that you and Stein-kun had to be forced to bond, correct?"

Spirit shivered. "I remember that fishing trip…" He grimaced before shaking his head. "So they're bonding huh? That better not include what I think it does." He cracked his knuckles to emphasize.

"Oh you worry too much Spirit-kun. I'm sure that nothing bad is going to happen. And besides, what would you do if he DIDN'T put the moves on your daughter?" Spirit blanched.

"WHAT? How dare he not make a move on my cute daughter! What, that punk thinks he's too good for her? Why I outta…" Spirit was interrupted by the blunt object that was Shinigami's hand.

"Honestly, you wouldn't be so bad if you weren't practically frothing at the mouth." His hand slipping back into the mirror, Shinigami sipped his tea, wondering if he'd made the right choice.

The fact that he was eating dinner at eleven o'clock at night was something new to Soul.

The fact that he was eating eggs and eggs alone for dinner was also new.

But most of all, the fact that he was eating with his new meister was the newest aspect of this particular dinner. "Did you even consider that maybe I already had a partner or that I even wanted one?" He asked, picking at his plate and feeling like he'd been passed the buck.

"Hm? Well, a little, but the fact that you were pretty much cowering in terror of that kishin gave me the idea that you might not mind being my partner. Besides, I'm not that bad am I?" She asked this in an innocent tone, picking at her eggs as well.

"N-no, I just…never mind. I'm not hungry." Standing up with his plate, Soul dropped the eggs in the trash-bin.

"Look, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. It's been a LONG day." Shutting his door with a snap, Soul flopped onto his bed, before wincing because of his arm. "Shit." He snapped, careful to move it somewhere that it wouldn't be uncomfortable. Although exhausted and by all measure ready for sleep, Soul found himself unable too.

Something was bothering him. For the life of him, he just couldn't figure out what it was.

Resigning to himself, Soul laid there for what seemed like an hour, before a soft crack of his door sliding open caught his attention. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a sandy-blonde flash, and knew immediately who it was.

Deciding maybe he could fool her into believing he was actually sound asleep, Soul slowed his breathing, not moving an inch. The minutes stretched, Maka not making a sound. The only indication he had she was there was the prickling of the hairs on the back of his neck.

The time seemed to slow down further, to a slow crawl.

Soul broke first.

"Huuuuuh…what is it Maka?" Cracking open an eye, Soul got a clear look at Maka's forehead tattoo, the bottom of her eyes just peaking over the edge of his bed. Her eyebrows drawn in a frown, Maka simply remained concerned looking, and a little apprehensive Soul noted.

"I…didn't mean to make you my partner if you didn't want to. I'm sorry; if you want I can call Shinigami-sama and call this whole thing off." They way her eyes shifted to the side told him this wasn't what she wanted; and somewhere inside him he felt as though that wasn't the desired result of all this either.

"I…don't think that's something I want."

A confused look crossed Maka's face, her head rising slightly over the side of his bed. "What do you mean?" The hopeful way she asked this didn't escape Soul.

"I'm not sure. I mean, yeah, I do want a meister, and yeah, we did kill a kishin together. But do you even know what a meister and weapon are?"

Maka brightened up a bit "Easy! A meister uses the weapon, and the weapon is the weapon." Looking at Soul for an approval, she again frowned when she was met with a shake of his head.

"While that's right, you're not dead on. A meister and a weapon are a partner; and being a partner means working together. The fact that you went and decided that you were my partner WITHOUT me, isn't exactly a good sign."

If possible, Maka's demeanor sagged a bit. "Oh, so you don't want to be my partner." She said in a hushed voice under her breath. Again however, Soul shook his head.

"I didn't say that either. I just…don't really know you, and todays been crazy, and I just want to sleep right now. Tomorrow is another day, so that's when we can talk this over. I'm just telling you, I don't mind being your partner, if you include me in the decision making a little."

Maka smiled widely. "Can do!"

"Okay, then can I please sleep?"

"Yeah, okay." Sighing to himself, Soul relaxed, waiting for Maka to leave.

She didn't leave, naturally.

"Ummm…I have a question."

Cracking an eye open before closing it, Soul sighed irritably. "What is it?"

"Can I sleep with you?" To say that Soul's eye slammed open and a small trickle of blood did in fact seep down the front of his face would not be incorrect.

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about now?"

Maka quirked her head to the side. "You know, as in sleep? Close your eyes? Off to la-la land? Cutting a log?"

Deflating, Soul sighed loudly. "There's a guest bedroom down the hall."

"Yeah, but I asked if I could sleep with you."

"…"

"…pretty please?"

"…fine, but don't do anything weird."

"Yaaaay!" Hopping up with a clap of her hands, the kishin's container snuggled into the covers of the bed, smiling contently as Soul remained laying as rigidly as possible.

'_As long as I don't roll over, I should be fine.' _He urged himself to remain laying as stiff as a board on his side, on the far edge of the bed.

Which was when Maka rolled over, pressing up against his back. _'FML.'_ With a begrudging conviction Soul drifted off.

* * *

**I've written better, I know, but this is sort of a filler chapter. I simply wanted to write something with Soul and Maka just innocently getting to know eachother.**

**And maybe have some akward character interaction as well.**

**Maka was a little too innocent in this chapter, so I'll definitely be having some devilry in the next one.**

**Which incidently might have some Blair in it, we'll see.**

**Magificent iT! I choose you! The Magnificent it uses 'REVIEW ATTACK'!**

IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!


	3. Sorry, It's My First Day

**Okay, time for some Soul Eater.**

**Did you guys hear about this new 'Not Soul Eater' series thats been put out? If you haven't, check it out. Shatz crazy up in there.**

**Now, I seem to recall some form of badassery, didn't I? Well, here you go!**

**REDA! RAED! DAER! AERD! ERDA! READ!**

**XXXXXXXXX**

"Aaaaaaaaah! Tsubaki!"

"Y-yes Black Star?"

"Make a note, because today is the day I; the great Black Star, shall triumph where all other men have failed before!"

"A-and how is that, Black Star?"

"For today is the day I surpass the heavens themselves!" In the open courtyard of Shibusen, Black Star struck one of his manliest poses, turned sideways with his thump pointed straight up, catching a thin ray of sunlight.

"You think today you'll finally do it?" Tsubaki, his faithful tool as of a day ago questioned, although flinched as Black Star suddenly whirled on her. "Tsubaki, do I detect a hint of doubt in your voice? Do you doubt the great Black Star?" Raising her arms defensively, Tsubaki took a short step back. "U-uh, no, not really, I was just wondering if your greatness had truly surpassed even my...limited perceptions of strength." There was a long pause, Black Star soaking this in.

"Well, I can't blame a little person for not being able to see over a mighty mountain that is my strength, now can I? Yes Tsubaki, today is the day. I have gauged the strength of my opponents in class, I have looked into the face of death himself, and I am sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no being in the WHOLE WORLD IS STRONGER THEN I, THE GREAT-"

"Outta my way, I'm comin' through!" What could have been mistaken for a small freight train suddenly collided with Black Star, the force sending him sprawling. Although it had been for an instant, Tsubaki had caught the blur of black, tan and blonde streak by, in her hand a rather desolute boy being dragged mid air like some sort of luggage.

"SORRY!" The girl called behind her, a massive dustcloud following in her wake.

Standing dumbfounded, Tsubaki watched the girls back retreat into the distance, before turning towards her downed comrade. "A-are you alright, Black Star?" There was a long pause, the boy laying prone in a crater, not moving. Then, he sat up slowly. He was tussed up, a trickle of blood pooling down his forhead. But the way his eyes had hardened and his entire composure tensed, Tsubaki immediately knew something bad was about to happen.

When he spoke, she flinched again. "Tsubaki."

"Y-yes Black Star."

"I have found a worthy opponent." With great purpose he stood up from the dirt, striding towards the halls of Shibusen. Somewhere, deep in her gut, Tsubaki knew only destruction could come from this.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Soul should have guessed that something like this would happen, but still, it had taken him aback at just how much enthusiasm his new quasi-partner had.

"First day of schoooool! First day of SCHOOOOOL! Do a dance! Put on some pants! First day of SCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" His hyperactive partner tore through Shibusen's hallways, his good arm tightly clamped in Maka's vice like grip as she looked around franticly. The few students milling the hallways only caught a twitching blur of black and tan, Maka's new coat her father had given her proudly displayed for everyone.

Despite the fact that modesty would dictate she wear clothing in public, she still wore her standard wrappings underneath, the only new addition to her normal attire was the soft red scarf she now wore around her neck, rather then her usual tethers.

_'I don't have to explain my fashion statements.' _She'd told him before putting it on. Soul had long since given up trying to understand Maka.

"Which room? Which room? Which-o-which-o-which room for whom?"

"What's with you and rhyming today? Your tempo's off by the way, you only needed two 'whom's'." She'd been sing-songing all morning, generally just getting on Souls nerves.

"Say Soul?" He rolled his eyes from where he lay on the floor, still held tightly in Maka's arm. "Yeah Maka?"

"Which room is ours again? I kind of forgot. I'm so excited, and nervous! I wonder who our teacher will be-"

"Sid. Our teacher's name is Sid."

"Or what we'll be learning-"

"How to be an efficient and powerful meister-weapon team up."

"Wow, you sure know a lot Soul."

"This is my second day here. I also read a brochure on Shibusen before I came to the school." Said brochure sat on his dining room table back at his dorm room, Maka saying she'd read it later but actually she'd just forgotten about it in the thrill of the morning.

"2-A. Our room is 2-A." He caught the faintest rise of Maka's cheeks in a wide smile before he was suddenly lurched from the floor, airborne. "Its moments like these that makes me wonder if coming here was a terrible mistake." He muttered to himself, but Maka's above human hearing caught his whisper.

"Not a chance! If you hadn't come to Shibusen, then we would never have met!"

"Still not seing how that's a good thing."

"Oh, you. 2-A! We're here!" Skidding to a stop, Maka swung Soul onto his feat, the boy gently patting his track suit down and grabbing the door handle. "Next time we just walk here alright?"

"But we made such good time!" Soul fixed her a look. "This is one of those things you were talking about, isn't it?"

"Yes, if we're a team then that means I have a say in where we go, and how." Soul swung the door open. "So please listen to me next time." He walked through the doorway, only to stop when he realized Maka wasn't following him.

"Eh?" Turning around, he found her still behind the door, back to him, hunched over. "What."

Walking over, he swiveled his head around her shoulder to get a look at her face. She was holding her arms to her chest, eyes wide and fingers pressed together. It took him a moment, but he realized suddenly she was frightened. "Y...you okay."

"No..." She murmured under her breath, her eyes looking away from his and her finger tapping increasing in speed. "I...there's a lot of people in there..." Soul's mind boggled.

She was afraid of a crowd. HER.

"Maka, i-it's fine. There just people. You killed a giant monster yesterday, why should you be scared of them?" She turned to meet his gaze, her eyesbrows scrunching down and her third eye tattoo fixing him with a critical gaze. "Monsters don't judge people like people judge people."

"Maka, your being-"

"I can't do this. I should just go back to my hole." She took a step forward, before an arm grabbed her shoulder. Turning, she realized that Soul had grabbed her, his face serious. "You know that thing we were just talking about?"

"Y-yeah. Teamwork?"

"Yeah. When we make a decision, we make it together. Your technically my semi-partner, and as your partner I can't let you make...a stupid decision like this." He let her shoulder go, the girl turning to him. "I just...don't know..."

"You don't have to. You have a cool guy like me to hold the spotlight. Now comeon, we'll be late for class if you hold us up any longer." He grabbed her forearm and took her inside, the girl still looking nervously around the room.

True to from, the room was big, several bleachers of desks rising high towards the back encircling an open space towards several blackboards. Maka's attention was everywhere, her eyes darting around in the hopes of taking everything in. Through her sleeve Soul could feel her whole body tense, and he again was reminded that Maka was actually very human.

Then Ox made everything worse.

Ox, the bald intellectual of a boy, with massive hair spikes, walked up suddenly. "Why hello! I am Oxford, this classes top student and defacto class representative! Welcome new students-OH GOD PUT ME DOWN!" Suddenly lifted above the rather panicked Maka's head, Ox could only holler in sheer terror as she suddenly through him at the door.

Which was precisely the moment Black Star kicked the door open. "ALRIGHT! I'm here to defeat you my eternal rival, for I am-OH GOD!" Black Star was knocked backwards from the force of Ox being thrown at him, the two sprawling on the ground.

Soul turned to Maka in complete confusion, the girl haveing the decency to look at least sheepish. "What? I-I panicked and I wanted him to go away. I'm sorry." She hung her head. Soul blinked incredulously at her for a few moments, before a slow clapping sounded from the open door.

"Well played my opponent. Well played. To be ready just as I prepare to attack, truly you are a worthy adversary. But this day is your last!" Stepping through the door, Black Star carried Ox over his shoulder. "Originally I was just going to kick your ass. But since you wish to engage in a sport like people fighting, I cannot deny you! Let our battle be LEGENDARY!" With this, Black Star hurled Ox at Maka. Mid-air, Ox came to, and for a moment, realized what was happening. He fell unconcious a moment later.

She simply sidestepped, quirking her head to the side as Ox skipped accross the floor and rolled in a heap. "Have we met?" She asked, scratchign her chin.

"Y...you are the lowest of the low if you think PSYCHOLOGICAL WAREFARE will have an effect on me! FOR I AM BLACK STAR! LYING AS IF YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF ME WILL ONLY CAUSE YOU MORE HARM!" With this, he jumped into the stands and grabbed a rather unlucky gentleman. "Wait, put me down!" He screamed.

"Oh grow a pair why don't you." Black Star shot back before hurling him too. This time, his aim was off however and before Soul could do anything, his and the boys skulls collided. Maka watched with a detatched look as the two fell to the floor, both clutching there forheads. She abrutply turned towards Black Star.

"I have no idea who you are, but you hurt my weapon. Nobody hurts my weapon except me; and only on special occasions! Fine, you want a 'Dodge People' match? You got it!" From beneath her scarf two tendrils shot out, latching onto people in the stands. By now the room was in chaos, people being hurled left and right as Black Star and Maka continued the destruction.

On the floor, Soul just watched with a detatched frown as people sailed overhead.

"FML." He sighed, before one of Maka's tether-arms wrapped around his waist. "Soul, I need you to be my special missile! This asshole thinks he's won, but with our souls entwined we can do anything!" Soul fixed her with a look, still nursing his forhead. "So, I take it you've gotten over your fears of crowds now?" She stopped mid-swing, remembering her fears suddenly.

"Oh yeah. I forgot." Suddenly slumping down to the floor, her tendrils slunk back into her scarf. Seizing the opportunity, Black Star chose the moment, like very other moment he had, to gloat. "Haha! Lost your will to fight opponent! Well just sit still, as I, the great and powerful Black Star, shall end your misery once and for-OYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOY!"

The sudden and rather confusing shout caught Soul and Maka's attention, looking up to see a tall man with deep tanned skin holding Black Star by the ankle, shaking him. "How many times have I told you: NO ROUGH-HOUSING!" Continuing to shake Black Star, the boy could only squeak out "I'm sorry Sid-sensei!" Before he was unceremoniously dropped to the floor." The newly named Sid turned towards Maka and Soul, looking them up and down.

"Let me guess. You're the new student, and you're that punk that skipped out last time he was here. Am I right?" They both nodded, Sid sighing as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with a heavily tattooed arm. "Of course. Alright, everyone take your seats. I'll see you three after class. Tsubaki." He waved a hand towards the girl nobody had seemed to notice until now, who waved back demerly.

"How long has she been here." Soul asked Maka, who shrugged. Surprisingly enough though, Black Star answered, suddenly walking up and holding an arm out. "That's Tsubaki, my partner. I'm Black Star by the way. Know my name, for it is the name of the man who will surpass god!" Not sure how to accept the show of bravado, Soul instead simply opted to take the boys hand, who in turn pulled him upright.

Doing the same with Maka, Black Star eyed the two of them. "You are a worthy opponent, but I unfortunately don't know your name. It is unfair that everyone should know mine, yet a worthy adversary such as yourself is completely unknown. Who are you rival?" He asked, but instead Maka just tapped her fingers together, looking away shyly. After a few beats, Soul sighed. "I'm Soul Eater, this is Maka Albarn. I'm her partner apparrently."

"Hmmmmm...Maka Albarn. That won't do, my rival must have a name that befits them. You will now be known as MAKA ALBARN: THE RIVAL OF BLACK STAR! You can thank me later for giving you the rights to my name." Soul blinked incredulously. "Why is everyone I meet here completely insane?"

Maka remained silent, still frozen to the floor.

"Alright you three, into your seats. I've finished role call, so everybody get to your seats!" Frozen in place, Maka made a move for the door but was stopped by Soul, who grabbed her arm again. With surprising ease he marched her up towards the seats and sat her down beside him, many of the student body directing glares towards them.

Maka didn't seem to notice them, although Soul did. Within two days he had garnered an exceedingly poor reputation from at least half the student body. This was not cool, and left him conflicted.

Black Star sighed, waiting for the tedium of the little people around him to once again put him into a coma of a nap. Dutiously, Tsubaki opened her notebook, watching Sid eagerly as he ticked off the last name.

"Okay, since we were so rudely interrupted yesterday-"

"I am Black Star!" The boy shouted at the top of his voice, moments before an entire crowd of people gangpiled him and proceeded to beat the crap out of him.

"-we will start at the beginning. Your in luck new student." Directing attention towards Maka, the girl shrank into her chair.

"...anyways, please open your books to-" The first day began.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After more then two hours of notetaking, Soul was beginning to find this place boring. Just a little. He'd counted the number of tiles on the floor, he'd drawn doodles before realizing music was essentially the only thing he had any skills in, and then he'd decided he just wanted ANYTHING to happen.

Black Star's complete insanity was starting to make sense to him.

"Alright, you have the rest of the day to take up missions. You three, Maka, Soul, Black Star, stay after class. You don't have to Tsubaki, but your welcome to if you wish." The girl nodded. "Everybody else: Live life without regret! That's the kind of man I am!" With surprising speed the boys and girls pratted out.

The still rather tustled Black Star stood next to Maka and Soul, the girl seeming to suddenly perk up as the last of the people filed out. Her eyes still darted warily around though, as if expecting something to suddenly fly out at her.

"You three have already garned quite the reputation. Black Star, you've managed to make an enemy of everyone so far, Soul Eater, you've managed to cause untold amounts of damage to this chool and Maka...well, everything I could find on you was blocked by red tape, so I'm just keeping you here because of the 'Dodge people' incident." Maka fixed him with an odd look.

"Red tape? Not literally, right? Because you seem like a guy that could rip right through a little piece of tape, even if its red!" Sid, and Black Star both fixed her with an odd look, Soul smacking his forhead. "Red tape, as in the information was blocked off because he didn't have the clearance to read it. It's a metaphor." Maka still looked confused. "So, he was blocked by a metaphor, or red tape?"

"Huuuuuh..." Soul sighed, but it was droned out by Black Star suddenly shouting at the top of his voice "MY RIVAL! SHE SPEAKS! She is a she right?" Soul nodded. "Good, she wears a lot of heavy clothing, and since she has kind of a flat chest-"

"Hey! I'm sensitive about that! I mean, I'm not Tsubaki over here, but I'm a girl! You know what I mean Tsubaki?" The demear girl, suddenly put on the spot, smiled. "A-a little. Some people have told me that I am...very developed in that area."

"I'll say! You be rockin' that rack!"

"I have the weirdest partner ever." Soul sighed, Black Star and Sid nodding along with Maka. Tsubaki just blushed and nodded her head awkwardly. Shaking himself straight, Sid frowned at the three of them. "Well, at any rate, you three will have to be punished for your actions. Under normal circumstances I'd just have you clean the store rooms or do janitorial work, but right now, I have a better idea. Since Soul and Maka here have already proven to be on the level of taking a Kishin's soul, I think that you can solve a problem we've been having for a while now."

Black Star turned disbelievingly towards the two of them, his eyes wide. "Y-you two have already taken your first Kishin's soul? T...that's...as expected of my rival." Crossing his arms, Tsubaki could see the large vein that had appeared on his forhead. _'Oh, Black Star, don't take it too personally.' _She admonished silently to herself.

"Yes, you see, there's been a witch that's been a...unique problem for us for some time. You see, she is both a witch and not a witch." The four eyed him with confused looks. "I'm sure your aware what constitutes a witch and whatnot, as well as Shibusen's stance on such things. However, this witche's soul is strange. Since the rules of life are very clear, a creature that is slightly like a witch but not quite, TECHNICALLY doesn't fall into the witch category. As such, Shinigami-sama and meisters can't touch her."

"That's where you three come in. You see, although your classified as Meisters, your not technically warriors of Shibusen yet. As such, you can engage her and stop the subversive destruction she's been causing." With that said, Sid stood back.

"You want us...to take on a witch?"

"I just told you, she's not quite a witch, she's something we've never seen before."

"This is insane. Maka, this is insane." Soul crossed his arms, waiting for her to agree with him.

"What, are you afraid Soul? You call yourself a man? I'll take on this witch-thing by myself!" Soul groused at the barb. "What? I'm a man, just not a crazy idiot!"

"Same difference."

"No it's not, tell him Maka!"

"Well, actually I wouldn't mind seeing this supposed witch/notWitch. Besides, we killed that Kishin pretty easily. It can't be that much harder. Like dancing upside down, the best things are done trial-by-fire! We'll take the mission!" Again, Soul frowned. "Your doing that thing again, not listening to what I have to say, and ignoring my opinion."

This time however, Maka gave him a look of understanding. "You're right, I'm not. Soul, what do you want to do?" He sighed in relief. "Finally! I want to go home and rest!"

"Okay. Tsubaki, what do you want to do?" Soul blanched as Tsubaki took a step back, looking unsure. "Tsubaki, you want to go." Black Star directly told her. "I want to go." She nodded. Soul looked rapidly between the three of them, completely shocked.

Maka spoke first however. "Okay, that's three for, one against. Sorry Soul, but democracy says we do it, and democracy is always right!" A vein appeared on his forhead, his sharp teeth flashing. "Fine! Let's go get ourselves killed!"

"Okay, you can find her location at-"

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"I am a pretty lady! Wooooh! I am so b-e-a-utiful! Wooooooh! Everyone loves me, but I only love P-UMP-KINS! YAY!" Sitting in her sudsy bath, Blair enjoyed her long hobby after a day of mayhem.

Thank death for loopholes, amirite?

"I wonder what I'll do for the rest of today?" She softly pouted, considering her options. A sudden presence on the threshold of her home caught her attention however. "Oooooh, fate solved that problem. Time to mess some suckers up!" She smirked to herself.

Absently, her brush floated around the room, whisked around by magic.

A chill ran down Soul's spine as the four of them walked towards the large pumpkin shaped house.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

**Whooooo! I wrote this entire thing in one sitting!**

**Sorry for the long pause between updates people, but you know how it is! Getting another job, doing art, doing fanfiction, keeping up do date on the internet and family and friends, sometimes it gets difficult!**

**That doesn't even count sudden rough patches with imagination!**

**But it's here, so enjoy!**

**Oh, and please review, feedback is surprisingly important where my fragile psyche is concerned!**

**Pwease?**

**Oh, also this chapter is unfortunately unedited. My beta has been really busy lately, and I might have to find a new one. Its sad, but a fact of life. So if your possibly interest, leave a post!**


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